


on the shelf

by goldenthunderstorms



Series: the ficpocalypse (challenge fics) [4]
Category: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Series - Mackenzi Lee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Conversion therapy mention, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, I don't like this one a lot y'all I'll be honest, I just love the idea of Percy giving Monty his first pride flag, I'm an overly consistent writer, I'm not sorry mom, Johanna and Monty are bi buddies fight me on that, Light Angst, M/M, Running Away, but she's here, hmmmmm, it's my republican mother's worst nightmare, literally everyone is queer, more like memories, the crown and cleaver is like a chaotic good biker gang, this will be the last time I use it tho I swear, we STAN, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenthunderstorms/pseuds/goldenthunderstorms
Summary: "Moving into an apartment with my only-recently-longterm boyfriend is a far cry from the shelter I’ve been living in for the past year and my parents’ large house that I lived in for the first seventeen years of my life.A little more than a year ago, I ran away from home. At the time it seemed like a hard decision, a desperate one, but I know now that it was the best decision I ever made."As Monty packs up the last of his and Percy's things, he looks back on the past year of his life and some items that remind him of it.
Relationships: Felicity Montague & Henry "Monty" Montague, Henry "Monty" Montague & Scipio, Henry "Monty" Montague/Percy Newton, Percy Newton & Scipio, Simmaa "Sim" Aldajah & Felicity Montague
Series: the ficpocalypse (challenge fics) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1707529
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26
Collections: TGGTVAV AU Challenge Fics





	on the shelf

**Author's Note:**

  * For [em_gray](https://archiveofourown.org/users/em_gray/gifts), [pinstripedJackalope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Unwritten](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24034795) by [pinstripedJackalope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/pseuds/pinstripedJackalope). 



> um hi  
> challenge fics have returned! if you're unfamiliar with challenge fics, they're part of an au challenge that I've been doing with em_gray and pinstripedJackalope! the way it works is we go in rounds writing a fic taking an element from one of the fics before us. for this round, I took the concept of running away from home from pinstripedJackalope's fic unwritten to give you Monty living in a lgbt youth shelter run by the chaotic good Crown and Cleaver biker gang  
> because it's round ten for challenge fics, we decided to do a fun little thing and try to reference other fics before us in this fic so if you've been keeping up with our challenge, keep an eye out for them! I'll point them all out in the end notes  
> honestly the longer this fic sat the more I disliked it but,,,,I hope y'all enjoy  
> minor tw for like conversion therapy mention

Percy and I don’t have a lot in our room. That’s expected in a temporary living situation. And yet, packing feels like the most arduous task in existence. We’ve packed all our clothes, all the books, everything in and on the desks and the bedside tables. All that’s left is to clean off the shelf above where our “bed” was (though we’ve already pushed the beds back into the corners where they go), which I’ve been admittedly hesitant to do. The shelf is where we keep our Sentimental Things. Things that we want to keep out but don’t want on the bedside tables because we either don’t want to damage it, have it in the way, or we don’t want to see it every time we get up or go to bed. Still, it’s a nice thing to have. But it’s the last thing to pack up before Percy and I can move out. Percy asked me to box them up last while he’s at work, so that’s what I’m doing. Once these things are packed, we leave to officially move into our apartment. I’m excited, if a bit nervous. Moving into an apartment with my only-recently-longterm boyfriend is a far cry from the shelter I’ve been living in for the past year and my parents’ large house that I lived in for the first seventeen years of my life.

A little more than a year ago, I ran away from home. At the time it seemed like a hard decision, a desperate one, but I know now that it was the best decision I ever made.

It was late December and my parents were throwing a Christmas party for all of their society friends and their kids. This included my longtime enemy-with-benefits Richard Peele. When the party got boring, Richard and I found ourselves in a coat closet. But, unfortunately, someone else found us. The woman must have been leaving early, coming to retrieve her coat. She opened the coat closet and  _ shrieked  _ like she had never seen gay people before. Though I admit that we must have been quite the sight: me on my knees, Richard leaning against the wall with his pants down, both of us fire engine red and looking like we wanted to strangle each other  _ and  _ the woman.

Her shrieking gathered everyone’s attention. My mother rushed over before Richard could even pull his pants back up and nearly fainted. I guess it killed the mood because people started rushing out of the party. I almost felt bad for Richard because I don’t think even my parents would be cruel enough to pull me out of the party by my ear like that, still barely giving him time to pull his pants up. My father told me to go to my room while the guests poured out. My parents were, in a word, humiliated. But my father was also  _ furious _ . Once the guests had all left, he called me down to his study, which never ended well for me.

He gave me a long speech about being  _ morally sound _ and  _ respectable  _ and  _ obedient _ , accompanied by blows. Standard procedure, really. But what he said before dismissing me scared me the most.

“It’s clear that my discipline isn’t going to be enough. Someone is going to have to fix you, Henry, before you shame this family any further.”

Though I usually knew better than to talk during these meetings with my father, I couldn’t help asking, “What?”

My father frowned. “This was going to be my last resort but I don’t seem to have much choice. I’m going to let the school know you won’t be returning for your spring semester. I’ll see to it that you’re fixed, Henry, if it’s the last thing that I do.” My father turned away from me then and began shuffling through his desk. A long silence followed though all I could hear was my heart pounding.

_ What does that mean? _ I kept thinking.  _ What is he going to do me?  _ I knew, really, I just didn’t want to consider it. Something like that had always seemed impossible to me. My parents may have been cold, strict, and homophobic, but I never wanted to imagine they would do something like  _ that.  _ I had heard the horror stories. I knew what happened to kids who got  _ fixed  _ and I didn’t want to be one of them.

After the silence stretched, my father looked back at me. “Go, Henry,” he said like I should have already been left, though I wasn’t supposed to leave before he dismissed me. Still, I moved faster than I ever had before as I left despite the pain that shot through my body. I made it back up to my room and paced, feeling like I was on borrowed time. Not long after I got upstairs, there was a knock at my door. At first, I panicked because I thought it was my father before I remembered that my father doesn’t knock. Then I panicked more because I thought it was my mother, there to tell me to pack my bags because the next day they were taking me to Camp Gay-Away. But it was only Felicity, who looked frazzled.

“I don’t want to get either of us in trouble so I’ll make this quick,” she said, talking fast. “But I have a friend who can help you.” She shoved a piece of paper into my hand. A business card, really, but it just had an address on it.

“What is this?” I asked.

Felicity gestured vaguely. “It’s a shelter. My friend’s father, his gang runs a bunch of—”

“His  _ what?  _ Felicity, slow down. What are you talking about? Why are you giving me this?”

Felicity took a deep breath and started talking again, less panicked. “I heard what Father said. You have to get out of here, Monty, before they send you away. Pack your bags now and  _ leave _ . This address is a shelter on the other side of town that will take you in. My friend, Sim—I don’t know if you’ve met her but her father runs some sort of biker gang? And they have these shelters all over the country. They’ll take you in and protect you from him.”

“Why are you helping me?” I asked. Felicity and I didn’t have the best relationship. We often didn’t get along; usually, we just ignored each other and threw the occasional insult. But Felicity was helping me beyond anything I could ever do for her.

She looked distressed that I asked her that. “Because…because I don’t want you to be tortured, Monty. You might be a complete pain in the ass and make me want to kill you sometimes—”

“Gee, thanks.”

“—but no one deserves to go where they’re trying to send you. Just leave. Get out of here while you still can.”

I stared down at the address and then looked back up and my little sister. She was only fourteen but she looked and acted so much older. I felt the ridiculously rare urge to hug her, so I did. She was literally saving my life. “Thank you, Feli.”

Felicity gave me her best approximation of a hug. “Knock on the front door twice when you get there. I’ll tell Sim to expect you.” Then, Felicity silently slipped out, leaving me holding a lifeline. I knew I probably wouldn’t have a lot of time or opportunity to get out. I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if my father caught me, so I knew I only had one chance to get anything I wanted to take and myself into my car and haul ass.

I pulled a suitcase and a duffel bag out of my closet and filled them with clothes, toiletries, and any other valuables I wanted to take. I also grabbed my backpack from school and shoved my laptop into it. I texted Felicity to make sure the coast was clear and once she told me it was, I went downstairs and outside. I got into my car with my things without making much noise and got the hell out of there. I drove to the shelter. If I wasn’t looking for it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it. It’s a big house, three stories tall, tucked in the back of a subdivision. A rainbow flag and a trans flag fly over the porch. Not the kind of place I expected from a gang, though Felicity didn’t tell me much about it. She never did explain  _ how _ she knew a gang princess in the first place. I shelved that for a later conversation.

I parked in the ridiculously large driveway and went to the door, knocking twice as Felicity told me to. The door was opened by a girl around Feli’s age with dark skin wearing a headscarf, a leather jacket covered in patches, and flowy pants. The girl, who I figured was Sim, looked shocked to see me and I realized that I still looked like a punching bag.

“Uh, hi,” I said. “I’m Monty, my sister Felicity—”

“I know who you are,” Sim said. She had an accent that I couldn’t place. She opened the door and took a step back to let me in. “Come upstairs to meet Scipio. Then we can find a room for you.”

Sim led me up the stairs to the attic where I sat down with Scipio—who honestly scared me at first considering that he is about twice my size and covered in tattoos—and told him who I was and why I left home. He assured me that I was safe and explained the basics of living in the shelter: don’t put yourself or anyone else in danger, don’t destroy things, help out a little, and what he stressed the most, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Then, I went to get my things from my car, and Scipio showed me to my room. Each room had two beds, two bedside tables, two desks, two dressers, a shelf on the wall between the two beds, and a large closet. When I moved in, I was roomed with Percy.

I still remember the surprise on his face when Scipio brought me in and introduced me. I looked rough, I’m sure. It was pretty obvious what I was running from. I think there was an immediate connection between me and Percy then, even if it was mainly from sympathy. Still, it didn’t take long for us to grow very close very fast. It was hard to sleep my first few weeks in the shelter and Percy is quite the insomniac, so late-night conversations came easily. About three months after I moved into the shelter, Percy asked me on a date and we made things “official” not long after. By now, I know the stories of the things that Percy has on this shelf as well as I know my own.

There’s a corked glass bottle with two slips of paper on the shelf: Percy’s most prized possession after his violin that belonged to his father. The bottle is from his father too, though, in a roundabout way.

Growing up, Percy’s father was everything to him. His whole life, it was always just him and his dad. Percy didn’t know his mother. But when Percy was sixteen, his father got sick and died. Percy calls that the worst year of his life: being diagnosed with epilepsy, losing his father, and becoming homeless all in one year. The glass bottle is, in Percy’s eyes, the last thing his father gave him.

See, when Percy was young, his father loved to tell him stories. His favorite story to tell was the story of how he met Percy’s mother. Not the actual story, but an aggrandized version of it that he would tell a young Percy before bedtime. The story went that Percy’s father was a pirate, traveling and playing his violin for anyone who would listen. Then one day, he met a mermaid who loved his playing so much that she fell in love with him and they had a baby, Percy, who inherited his parents’ love and skill for music. Percy obviously didn’t believe this past age seven, but that didn’t stop his father from telling pirate stories and Percy loved them. One of his father’s favorite piratic antics were the wish bottles. He claimed it was an old pirate superstition: if you put a wish in a bottle and set it free in the water, it would be granted. It was another thing Percy didn’t totally buy into but was special because it was a tradition with his dad. On his father’s last day out of the hospital, he and Percy did a wish bottle for the first time in years “for old times’ sake”. Percy says that’s when he knew his father was dying, but he humored him.

Percy’s father died not long after that and Percy had to move in with his aunt and uncle, who quickly made it very clear that they weren’t accepting of Percy. Percy didn’t feel safe after his uncle made threats to him and he ran. Percy drove to the riverbank where he spent that day with his father, unsure of where else to go, and alone, scared, missing his father more than anything. Then he saw the bottle in the water.

Percy ran to pull the bottle out of the water. He opened it to make sure and it was the bottle he and his father had tossed into the water that day. He pulled out their wishes. Percy’s wish was that he would always have his father. His father’s wish was for his son to live his best life without him. Percy thinks it was a sign from his father, that he was still watching over Percy even though he was dead.

Percy told me that story on his eighteenth birthday a few months ago when he got his first tattoo. The tattoo is a small mermaid on his wrist, a tribute to his father.

“I know it seems kind of stupid,” he said when he showed me, “but he means a lot to me.”

“It’s not stupid, Perce,” I assured him. I couldn’t fathom the idea of a functional, let alone loving, relationship with my father, but I’m glad that Percy got to have that for at least some of his life. The bottle, along with an ancient radio that probably doesn’t even work anymore and an old picture of a very young Percy in his father’s arms, is Percy’s sort of memorial for his father on the shelf.

I don’t have as much family paraphernalia. However, I do have one picture. It’s my baby brother, Adrian. Adrian was born not long after I ran from home and Felicity gave me the picture.

“I thought you might want to know about him,” she had said, shrugging. 

I’ll admit, I’m not totally sure how I feel about it. I don’t exactly miss living with my family but there is the knowledge that there is a baby who I will never get to meet that will probably grow up treated like I was. Maybe one day, when he’s older, I could meet him. Maybe we could save him too.

But for now, I try not to worry about it too much.

The rest of my things on the shelf aren’t family-related. Mostly, they’re Percy-related.

In another glass bottle, I have a dried rose. The rose is from my first date with Percy.

Percy isn’t the most forward but he did make the first move by asking me on a date. Granted, we had been flirting for a while (mostly me flirting with Percy until he got too flustered to flirt back), but that was the first  _ advance  _ that either of us made. And sweet, sweet Percy got it into his head that he wanted to impress me. It was precious. He made me wear something nice and then  _ kicked me out of our room _ so he could ‘pick me up’ from Sinjon’s room down the hall. Sinjon himself found this adorable.

“I’m sorry, all I had to do to get a boyfriend was have a roommate?” Sinjon had asked when I came into his room to wait. Then, he looked me up and down. “If this whole date with Percy doesn’t go well, I’d take you in.”

“What? And deprive all the other men in the area? I couldn’t do that to them.”

Sinjon smiled. “You do make a fair point. You’re not really my type anyway.”

I rolled my eyes and sat on the free bed in Sinjon’s room. Sinjon was the only other guy in the shelter at the time and we’re good friends. His flirting never means anything. That’s just how he is with everyone, even girls, though he doesn’t swing that way.

I didn’t have to wait long for Percy. About twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll let you get that,” Sinjon told me, not even looking up from his phone.

I got the door and was faced with a sheepish Percy who, I found out, cleans up quite nicely. He was holding a single rose.

“That for me, darling?” I asked. Percy nodded and handed it to me. “You look nice.”

“Thanks. You do too,” Percy said, though he had already seen me.

“This is adorable and all,” Sinjon cut in, “but go be cute elsewhere. I’m single enough as it is.”

We left and Percy took me to the best diner I have ever been to (not that I’ve been to many). We stayed for  _ hours _ , they practically kicked us out at closing time. But it was the happiest I had been in months: me and Percy just sitting there, drinking milkshakes and  _ talking _ . I had never really gone on a date with someone before. I had never  _ dated  _ someone. I had plenty of usual hookups, flirtations even, but no one ever stayed. Not that I usually made efforts to keep people around. But Percy was different, as cliche as that sounds.

At first, I could tell he was nervous and if I’m honest, so was I. But it didn’t take long for us to get comfortable. And I remember being struck with the thought,  _ I want to spend the rest of my life with you _ . At the time, I wrote it off as yearning and the initial infatuation following a  _ fantastic _ first date. But now? I really do.

Another one of my items on the shelf—well, that sort of drapes off the shelf—is a gift from Percy.

In June, everyone in the shelter goes to Pride as a group. It’s a good time and this past June was the first time I got to go to Pride at all. I had the time of my life there and I have pictures from it on the shelf and had one on my bedside table. But my other relic from Pride is the little bi pride flag that Percy gave me. It’s the little kind that you can wave around on a stick but it’s probably my absolute favorite thing. I taped the stick down on the top of the shelf so that the flag hangs off of it. I remember when Percy gave it to me. It was the first time that I told him I loved him.

It was the first day of June. We were all going to pride that weekend so Johanna decided that we could all go out to buy things like accessories and makeup to wear. When we went to lunch together after shopping, Percy pulled me aside.

“So, I sort of got something for you,” he told me.

“You did?”

Percy nodded. He reached into his bag and pulled out the flag.

“Oh, Perce,” I said, taking it. “I love it. So much.” There’s just no feeling like getting a pride flag after not being allowed to have one. And the fact that Percy thought to get one for me…

I pulled Percy into a kiss and hugged him. “I love you,” I told him. Then, we both pulled back, equally surprised. I hadn’t meant to say it yet. I had  _ thought  _ it. I was almost certain that I loved Percy. But we had only been dating for about three months at that point and I wasn’t sure if Percy was ready to hear that yet.

“You…love me?” Percy asked like he wasn’t sure if he had heard me correctly.

“Yes?”  _ Please don’t freak out. Please don’t freak out. Please don’t freak out. _

But Percy just beamed and pulled me into another kiss. 

When he let me breathe again, I asked, “Does this mean you’re alright with that?”

Percy laughed. “I am  _ more  _ than alright with it.” He kissed me again, quickly, and added, “I love you too.”

“I feel like I’m watching a rom-com.”

Percy and I both jumped and turned to see Jeanne watching us from the table.

“You two are disgusting but you’re also adorable. Come eat.”

Percy and I disentangled from each other but I didn’t let go of his hand.

I haven’t realized how much I’m going to miss moments like those, with everyone else in the shelter. There aren’t a lot of us, just me, Percy, Johanna, Jeanne, Sinjon, and Georgie. Sim hangs around a lot but she obviously doesn’t live in the shelter. But when it’s just the seven of us (and Scipio), we’re all really close. After living here for so long, they really feel like my family and all of that other cheesy Hallmark movie stuff. I’m really going to miss them all.

But the shelf has to be cleared. Percy and I have an apartment waiting.

I start pulling things off of the shelf and putting them into a box. When I’m almost done, there’s a knock on the door.

“Come in!” I say.

Sim steps in and looks around. “All cleaned out?” she asks. She puts her hands in her pockets. She’s wearing her usual Crown and Cleaver leather jacket covered in patches which, I notice, has been added to. Above the lesbian flag patch on her arm is a small purple patch that says “lavender menace”. Very Sim.

“Yeah, all that’s left is this box.” I take the last few things off of the shelf.

“It’s weird to see the beds apart again.”

I laugh, remembering how much shit Sim gave us for pushing them together in the first place, along with a reminder that we  _ did  _ have wall-to-wall neighbors. By that point, we kicked her out. “I’m not going to miss trying to get comfortable on two twin mattresses.”

“That’s fair.” Sim sighs. “Should I save my sappy goodbye for when you’re leaving?”

“Please.”

Sim nods. “Well, you better stay in touch or I’ll get my wife to harass you.”

I smile. Sim’s “wife” is Felicity. They aren’t actually together but Sim has been pining after Felicity for ages. Sim told Feli as much and though Feli politely explained that she doesn’t see Sim that way, Sim still flirts with Feli constantly. Feli doesn’t seem to mind.

“Do you mean you still want Percy to come and cook dinner?

“Yes,” Sim admits.

“Too bad. You guys have to learn self-dependence.”

“That’s easy for you to say. He’ll still cook for you!”

“I know. That’s why I’m dating him.”

“I hope that’s not the  _ only  _ reason.”

Sim and I turn to see Percy in the doorway, smiling.

“Of course not, darling. I’m also dating you for your riches.”

Percy laughs, coming to my side and sliding an arm around my waist. He kisses my cheek. Sim makes a gagging sound so I flip her off.

“We won’t miss your PDA,” Sim assures us.

“Your loss.”

“Play nice,” Percy chides.

“I’m going downstairs,” Sim says. “Don’t get too distracted. I think Johanna made you a cake.” With that, she leaves.

Percy turns and wraps both his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. “Ready to leave?”

“No,” I admit.

He shakes his head. “Me neither. But we should go.”

“You’re carrying the box,” I say and kiss him before he can argue.

When we get downstairs, everyone is waiting in the kitchen. Johanna does, in fact, have a cake. She hands it to me and then throws her arms around me so I almost drop it. But when Johanna pulls away the cake is unharmed. Everyone hugs us, some multiple times. It’s like we’re all forgetting that Percy and I aren’t even moving across town and will probably be here weekly.

Georgie is clinging to Percy. Georgie is the youngest one in the shelter. He’s only thirteen and came to the shelter when his dad died and his mom wasn’t accepting of him being trans. I guess Georgie took one look at Percy, another black boy with a dead dad, and decided that Percy would be his Emotional Support Older Gay. Georgie  _ adores _ Percy, and the feeling is mutual. Percy adores everyone here. I know that Georgie hugging him is making him emotional, though he’s trying to hide it.

“Come on, we won’t even be twenty minutes way,” I say as Jeanne hugs me.

“But that’s  _ so far _ ,” Jeanne whines.

It takes twenty more minutes of hugging and coaxing before Percy and I can make it to my car and put the box in. Everyone yells goodbyes at us and Sinjon tells us not to wake the neighbors. They’re all so damn dramatic.

Finally, I get into my car and Percy into his. We drive to the apartment complex and I have to carry the box this time, which just seems cruel considering the stairs. Percy unlocks the front door, and stepping into the apartment has a sense of finality to it. This is it. This is home.

I set the box on the ground with the other boxes that we’ve moved in here already. We aren’t unpacked at all yet. But it’s early in the afternoon and if all we do is make the bed, that will be enough for today.

So, that’s what we do. We make the bed and unpack most of our clothes, Percy sets up the TV, and I order takeout for dinner. By the time the sun is setting, Percy and I sit on opposite ends of the sofa, legs entangled, eating.

“It’s too quiet,” Percy says.

I nod. After a moment I ask, “Hey, when’s the last time you tried to use that old radio?”

“My dad’s?” I nod again. Percy frowns. “I don’t know.”

I get up and go find the box I packed this morning. The apartment is a mess of boxes and furniture, but I find it and bring it over to the couch. I pull out the radio and mess with it for about fifteen minutes before it crackles to life, softly playing whatever radio station it picked up.

“I didn’t think it still worked,” Percy says.

“Doesn’t work  _ well _ ,” I say, turning the volume up. It sounds sort of tinny like the speakers don’t work properly, but you can make out the music it plays. “But it’s good for background noise.”

Percy nods, smiling.

We finish our takeout with the radio going in the background. It’s definitely not a replacement for our friends, but it makes the apartment sound a little less lonely.

After eating, we go back to our room and I collapse onto the bed. It’s a king-sized bed because Percy and I were both sick of sleeping on twins pushed against each other (and Percy is very tall and is tired of his feet going off the edge).

Percy lays down next to me, kissing my cheek. I turn to kiss him properly but Percy doesn’t let me deepen it. “It’s going to take a while until this place feels like home,” he says.

I nod. “We’ll adjust. And we can visit them anytime we want, you know.”

“I know, it’s just not the same.”

“I know.” I look up at the ceiling. “You know what this room needs?”

“What?”

“I think it’s missing a shelf.”

**Author's Note:**

> References to other fics!  
> Percy's thing with mermaids was a nod to Radio Ship  
> Old radio was a sort of nod to Radio Ship and nod to static  
> Percy's tattoo is a nod to The Number Twenty if you squint  
> Percy and his dad's wish bottle was a reference to Strangers In The Night

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Ley Lines](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25273879) by [pinstripedJackalope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/pseuds/pinstripedJackalope)




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